Good to Great

Four positions for which we are planning promise to catapult our school forward, adding significant services to students and enabling us to support very good teachers to become great and great teachers to become even greater.

Positions:

Enrichment Specialist: An enrichment specialist whose role will be to support teachers to design enrichment experiences for students will join our department of student services. This educator will work directly with students who, based on assessment, demonstrate the need for enrichment or acceleration exceeding grade-level learning. The enrichment specialist will be able to teach students in their classrooms and, as needed, pull students out of class to provide an enriched curriculum. In addition, our enrichment specialist will serve as a coach to teachers, assisting us to design enrichment experiences that will challenge and nurture the talents and passions of all our students.

Singapore Math Coach: As we implement a Singapore math curriculum in the school, we will benefit from the “gold standard” of professional learning in curriculum implementation for our teachers – an outside expert providing five days of intensive training for teachers as well as a workshop for parents, alongside a full-time in-house coach to provide ongoing professional learning and training for our teachers.

Library/Media Specialist: Leading the process of shifting our magnificent library into a twenty-first century library/media center is vital to our efforts to prepare our students for success in our rapidly changing media-rich world. We will be welcoming a library/media specialist to our faculty who will support our students to develop research and media literacy skills. Our library and media specialist will also coach our classroom teachers in more skillful integration of research, media, and literacy skills into educational experiences in the classroom.

Educational Technology Coach: Technology in the twenty-first century can no longer be relegated to a lab, but must be infused within classroom experiences. An educational technology coach will provide students with a comprehensive technology curriculum in the lab, but even more significantly, will support teachers to infuse daily learning experiences with technology in order to enhance and improve the quality of learning at our school.

Coaching Team:

What do the four positions described above share? You got it! Each of these positions includes some form of instructional coaching for our teachers. Our enrichment specialist, Singapore math coach, library/media specialist, and educational technology coach will join Ann Berlstein, our science coach, and Hadassah Wrightman, our Hebrew coach to form a coaching team. Jen Gensior, Chair of our Student Support Department, will also work with coaches and will be providing additional instructional coaching support to our faculty in literacy and learning strategies.

These instructional coaches or “teachers of teachers” will enable us to support very good and great teachers to become even greater. That commitment to the ongoing learning of teachers, not via outside workshops but through job-embedded learning experiences and collaboration among peers, is at the essence of what distinguishes the very best schools today.

Over the course of the next several months you will learn more about our curriculum enhancements, our hiring processes, and our instructional coaching team. You’ll have opportunities to meet our instructional coaches and gain greater insight into our commitment to continue to improve the quality of learning for our students. Please share with us your questions, insights, and ideas.

The Power of “We”

Community! Collaboration! Connection! Energy! Ideas! Action!

The school year begins with the power of “we” – our community working together to enrich the intellectual and spiritual lives of our children.

What’s in store for our school this year?  A dynamic PTO with new and returning leadership to strengthen the bond between our families and school.  New community action groups with parents and teachers dedicated to enhancing Jewish life, gemilut chesed (social action), Israeli culture and health & wellness.  Family curriculum nights where students and parents playfully learn together.  Refined and strengthened Student Services to better meet the needs of all learners, whether in enrichment or support.  Expanded science program with more fully integrated classroom and lab studies, using our indoor and outdoor labs, trails, and gardens.  An exciting balanced literacy program to enhance reading and writing skills in English and Hebrew.  Technology plan to build skills and encourage creativity, while teaching our students to become responsible, safe digital citizens.  A facelift for our walls with bright banners and colorful pictures expressing our mission and core values to reinforce who we are as a school and community.

And looking ahead to 2012-2013, we are designing our new library-media center and planning and training for the introduction of Singapore Math.

Join us! Become more engaged with our Schechter Westchester community.  By bringing together our ideas, talents, passion and time, the power of “We” will make a wonderful difference in the lives of our children and our families!

Literacy Pronoun Watch: The only pronoun used in the writing of this blog entry is “we”; there is no “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” or “them.” With tremendous room for the individual, together we are greater than alone; united we will offer so much to our children and our community. That is the power of “we.”

What’s on my mind… What’s on yours?

It’s been far too long since I’ve written.  It’s not for lack of information to share; paradoxically, it’s because Schechter Westchester has been so busy.

For us at school, we’re gearing up – at once preparing for the upcoming academic year while remaining fully present in this year, attentive to our students, and ready to use each and every precious day to support their learning and their personal growth. Spring is by no means a time for winding down.

There is so much I want to share it’s hard to know where to begin. Topics on my mind include class placement and hiring new teachers – this possibly tops the list of activities that are demanding my attention at this time of year. There is also much ado about important curricular innovations in each discipline and in overall approach, the fruits of which you will begin to see as early as next fall.  A group of teachers has been meeting to discuss academic excellence and the role of homework in supporting classroom learning. We’re entrenched in conversations about a strengthened and deepened focus on gemilut chesed (social action) and reflecting on more deeply infusing our curriculum and programming with core Jewish values.

What peeks your curiosity about our school work?  What topics would you like to learn more about?

Here are two homework assignments: one for me, one for you:

• My assignment is to write more regularly.
• Your assignment: Take the poll! It’s right on this blog and tell me what’s on your mind.

Post your questions and comments, and offer your insights and perspectives.  Don’t be shy! Our dialogue and new insight into these areas can help you better understand the Schechter Westchester experience.

Take the poll now!

A Day in the Life

A fourth grade science fair, fifth graders speaking only Hebrew during lunch at an Israeli restaurant; a visit from a Yonkers public school fifth grade class; preparations for our school Passover sedarim.

This is only a hint of the exciting events happening here … all in just one day.  Add to this the bustle of our hard-working maintenance crew, led by Pat Bueti, keeping our generator up and running, and you’ll see images from a very busy day.

So, what is the connection between these different activities? Each is important in the way it connects what our children learn in school to real life experiences.

During the science fair, students posed original scientific questions, investigated answers, and presented their findings to one another. While speaking conversational Hebrew in an authentic setting, our fifth-graders had “light-bulb” moments when they realized for themselves that they are ready to make the language come alive during visits to Israel. Our students welcomed children of different cultures and faiths to our school, sharing our traditions and learning about others’. Throughout the school, preparations were underway as our children anticipate adding meaning and substance to our model Passover sedarim and bringing this home to their family sedarim. Meanwhile, they also learned from watching the maintenance staff’s hard work to keep the classrooms warm and bright, gaining a greater appreciation for the creature comforts we often take for granted and of the behind-the-scenes efforts that create the backdrop for our school days.

Of course, this is just a snapshot of what happened on a particular day. Life at Schechter Westchester is vibrant, creative, and energetic everyday. Yet behind the flurry of activity is deliberate thought and planning. Know that these experiences are greater than the sum of their parts. They are designed carefully to meet our high standards and are infused with Jewish values.

School Without the Students: What Teachers Accomplished on Professional Development Day

Children cheer and parents wonder.   Why do we need a day off for professional development?

Last Monday, as children enjoyed a long weekend and parents rearranged childcare, teachers took giant strides in an ongoing and innovative curriculum review.  We looked at each subject area, considered state and national standards, and using the most current educational research available, determined which features of our curriculum reflect the best in education today. We also determined which features we can work on to improve the quality of the education we give the children.

As we explore new and richer ways of bringing science, social studies, and Chumash into the classroom, we are placing more emphasis on the essential core skills that go beyond subject areas. We are reviewing proven methods of teaching literacy in both language arts and Hebrew. We are considering several ways to bolster our math curriculum so that students will achieve even greater success.  In all areas, we are finding creative approaches to support learning with educational technology.

Your children have already begun to see the fruits of our efforts in subtle ways.  New tactics and approaches are being used in classrooms. You will see more obvious innovation next year as we roll out new units in each subject area.  Over the next several months, look for entries in this blog that will be full of specific details about our progress.

Getting Technical During Professional Day

Don’t hesitate to share with me your questions and areas of interest.  I look forward to a continuing dialogue with you.